The Tony Pulis habit that could start to infuriate West Brom fans

West Brom fans wouldn't have been looking for the exact reaction Tony Pulis gave after his side's bore draw with Aston Villa on Saturday.

Instead of lambasting another poor performance - and yet another toothless display going forward - Pulis instead praised his side and... started talking about how much Aston Villa's squad is worth...

He is quoted as saying by Sky Sports: "Let's not forget Villa have brought a squad here that's worth £84m. When you're looking at that, they're no mugs.

"We've gained another point. We've got four points over our rivals out of two games without conceding a goal against them."

It's Pulis's own special brand of spin. He doesn't mention the fact Aston Villa are bottom of the Premier League table and the Baggies being expected to beat a team they are 15 points ahead of - at home...

And nor is it the first time he's done this this season. Indeed, after West Brom's 2-2 draw with Liverpool, the Welshman again made a point of emphasising how much money the Reds have spent on their side.

After several seasons in the Premier League, West Brom aren't some non-league minnows who look at the 19 other teams in the Premier League and say 'hey, they've spent a lot of money, let's fear them.'

West Brom are better than that. And, if Pulis keeps insisting on ruling goals out of the Baggies' game - and then talking about how much money their opponents have spent - fan frustration will only grow and grow.

Tim Poole

Tim Poole is a sports journalist for HITC with a love of football, tennis and snooker in particular.His career to date has seen him speak to former Manchester United boss David Moyes, interview snooker world champion Mark Selby and be snubbed by Premier League managers and players in more than one language!He is a massive Roger Federer fan and lives by the motto that 'sport is life.' When he's not writing about it, he's playing it, be it football, tennis, basketball, badminton, table tennis, darts, snooker, golf or even water polo. He is better at some than others...